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The book aims to examine the vision for the new state of Pakistan as perceived by the founders of the country. Be it sectarian, ethnic, or resource based conflicts, the lack of a secular approach pursued by various regimes of Pakistan since 1947 until today has augmented the sense of insecurity and instability in the country, particularly among the socially and ethnically marginalized communities. A secular approach does not imply anti-religious thought or practice, but a neutral and unbiased way of understanding which can be perceived as just and fair. The book argues that the issue of religious militancy and violence can be successfully dealt with by introducing a secular order; this research aims to add to new perspective to developing an understanding of a secular approach and mindset in order to unleash the process of conflict management in Pakistan based on the lessons which can be learned from the experiences of European, Turkish, Indian, and Indonesian experiments with secularism.
Exploring the long history of conflict in South Asia, this book assesses the role of confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs) in reducing tension. Using a comparative framework, the contributors draw lessons for South Asia from the experiences of the states in Cold War Europe and in the Middle East. Despite the significant historical, political and geographic differences among regions, the contributors illustrate how the implementation of CSBM's elsewhere has important implications for limiting interstate conflict in South Asia.
This book is a collection of speeches and lectures delivered by political luminaries, practitioners and noted scholars on South Asian security at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore.It offers interesting insights on the emerging security dynamics of South Asia. The issues covered are highly topical and include analyses of the conflict in Afghanistan, counter-terrorism in Pakistan, conflict management in Kashmir, post-conflict restructuring in Nepal and militarization in Asia. Some of the chapters provide in-depth analyses of the regional power politics and competing foreign policy priorities, with particular emphasis on India, the major regional power. Indi...
In this book, the leading authority on India's nuclear program offers an informed and thoughtful assessment of India's nuclear strategy. Basrur shows that the country's nuclear culture is generally in accord with the principle of minimum deterrence but sometimes drifts into a more open-ended view.
Even though much has been said and written about 9/11, the work developed on this subject has mostly explored it as an unparalleled event, a turning point in history. This book wishes to look instead at how disruptive events promote a network of associations and how people resort to comparison as a means to make sense of the unknown, i.e. to comprehend what seems incomprehensible. In order to effectively discuss the complexity of 9/11, this book articulates different fields of knowledge and perspectives such as visual culture, media studies, performance studies, critical theory, memory studies and literary studies to shed some light on 9/11 and analyze how the event has impacted on American social and cultural fabric and how the American society has come to terms with such a devastating event. A more in-depth study of Don DeLillo’s Falling Man and Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close draws attention to the cultural construction of catastrophe and the plethora of cultural products 9/11 has inspired. It demonstrates how the event has been integrated into American culture and exemplifies what makes up the 9/11 imaginary.
Jews, Muslims and Jerusalem: Disputes and Dialogues examines MuslimJewish relations during significant periods of history in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. A deep concern in the Muslim Arab world concerns the status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. Israels continued occupation of the West Bank since 1967, and its control of East Jerusalem, has reinforced anti-Jewish (Judeophobia) and anti-Israel movements. The most prominent are the Hamas, the Liberation Party (tahrir), the Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah, the Islamic rulers in Iran, and recently Turkey. Conversely, amongst Jews in Israel and the Diaspora (and amongst many Christians) the last decades have witnessed a rise in extreme ...
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an international organization comprised of the eight countries in South Asia. This work aims examine the institutional structure, objectives and effectiveness of the SAARC in its role as South Asia’s leading regional institution. Drawing on original research it offers a fresh and accessible account of SAARC, arguing that South Asia forms a unique regional security complex that enables certain forms of regional cooperation and bars cooperation on other issue areas. The text provides a comprehensive introduction to the SAARC, describing the historical developments that lead to its formation and examining key issues such as: The ...
This book traces the roots of the two enduring rivalries: the India-Pakistan and Arab-Israeli conflicts. It then compares trends of development and change over time and examines their impact on the persistence of each conflict. Covering a wide range of historical events spanning seven decades in the two regions, including major militarized disputes and peace negotiations, the study points to variation in interstate relations and a significant increase in animosity between states and non-state players. It shows how changes in the agenda and the identity discourse of the main actors involved in these conflicts have undermined the idea of a “two-state” solution, hindering the resolution of the persistent conflicts in South Asia and the Middle East.
In order to understand the Pakistani state and government’s treatment of non-dominant ethnic groups after the failure of the military operation in East Pakistan and the independence of Bangladesh, this book looks at the ethnic movements that were subject to a military operation after 1971: the Baloch in the 1970s, the Sindhis in the 1980s and Mohajirs in the 1990s. The book critically evaluates the literature on ethnicity and nationalism by taking nationalist ideology and the political divisions which it generates within ethnic groups as essential in estimating ethnic movements. It goes on to challenge the modernist argument that nationalism is only relevant to modern-industrialised socio-...